Thanks to all the sites I have surfed for inspiration and all those
who have expanded my knowledge
Web Site of Alan Gregory
Solutions
Many smaller companies would like a web presence but have no idea
how to go about it or what to do with the space. The site often goes live then
stagnates. It is not the remit of Web Development agencies to keep the site up
to date. That is the job of the company concerned. So what should happen? It is
my philosophy that content should be editable in a user friendly fashion so
that even when the site developers have moved on the site can be kept current
by non technical users who know the latest news. This ultimately means web
sites have to be data driven, and the data needs to be editable by end users.
Contact me to discuss your needs.
Skills
Since 1985 I have been involved in the IT industry, firstly as
a data entry clerk on a Burroughs B90 system with an 80mb hard disk the size of
a filing cabinet and then onto the IBM PC and subsequently its ancestors.
I had done some programming on the ZX Spectrum writing games and sprite
engines in assembler.
When the PC explosion started I picked up QuickBasic and then Pascal
writing applications for the company that stored data and performed
calculations for various admin tasks.
I joined a software house writing actuarial software using 4GL for
the UI and C for the calculations then back to Pascal for some HR software.
I moved on to VB when Windows came along and then onto Delphi for
Examination marking software.
I am now back on VB in it's .NET form with ASP.NET via a short stay at classic
ASP.
ASP; ASP.NET; VB; MS SQL; C#; C; Pascal; Delphi; OOP Design;
HTML; Javascript; ActionScript; Dreamweaver; Flash; IIS; Office Products
Beliefs
Years ago when I started programming I spent hours huddled over a
keyboard typing code in, editing it and testing it over and over, with little
in the way of planning. I could
see the solution to coding issues quickly so I didn’t need planning.
However I missed little things along the way and user requirement
changes killed the whole process. I
guess this is like most self taught coders.
When I joined the real world of application development I found this approach
did not work and never would. Planning is everything, design is even more.
Designing in validation, error handling, extendibility, reusability and
security is a must. This takes a
little time in the lead up to coding but it saves time in the overall project
time.
I believe that IT now is too vast for a good all rounder.
There are
some but generally there should be network and comms specialists, development
specialists and hardware specialists. Each of these areas can be split
further with development being split between project managers, designers,
developers, testers and documenters. Although there are crossover roles,
testers should not be developers or at least not the same original developers
Personal and Family
My family is very important to me, my wife of 12 years Lisa is my
rock and my two sons Adam and Owen give me the kind of mixed frustration and
joy that parents the world over feel.
My eldest son plays Sunday league youth football for the Darley Abbey Colts so
that’s my Sunday morning used up. Owen
is a little young for the football but likes watching, in between the things a
five year old usually does. We Live in Derby, in the Midlands UK.
My Hobbies & Pastimes
I love sport, I still get to play a little 5 a side football even
though it hurts afterwards. I enjoy a little badminton too. My
friends will tell you I like a drink or two, there is nothing better in life
that sorting out the problems of the world over a pint at the local. Huge
issues seem simpler after a glass or two of Guinness. I used to play a lot of
snooker, I still have the pale skin and bad complexion to prove it.
Obviously keeping up with developments in my field take a lot of time but some
of the sites mentioned on this page really do help.
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